The progressive stages of ageing in one woman’s life are juxtaposed with detail of plant matter and art historical references.
In Growth, Form and the Inevitability of Herself, 2004, the life cycle of a garden is shown in relation to the human process of ageing, focussed through images of Tracy’s mother Giuseppina Salvatore (1933-2015). The development of the work coincided with the planning of the Merchant’s House Garden by Tracy & Edwin in Kirkcaldy, Scotland. The abandoned site is a former riggs garden attached to the largely 17th century house of former merchants who traded from the Scottish east coast with the Baltic states and the Netherlands.
This video work Growth, Form and the Inevitability of Herself questions accepted notions of beauty as extreme close-ups of decaying matter themselves become images of striking beauty. The progressive stages of ageing in one woman’s life are juxtaposed with detail of plant matter and art historical references.
The work is a contemporary still life, ‘nature morte’ informed by the 17th century Dutch tradition.
The extreme close-ups prohibit an instant understanding of any one full image. Eighteen images move hypnotically and independently of each other in a grid pattern across a large area.
Commissioned by CCA for the centenary celebrations of the Entente Cordiale, supported by the Scottish Executive, the City of Lille and CCA Glasgow. Produced and presented by artconnexion, Lille.